4-9 Nothing bad happens without something good coming out of it. No hay mal que por bien no venga.

What lies beyond the horizon?

This proverb is well known in the Spanish-speaking world and isn't linked only to the Lucumí religion in Cuba. It probably has its roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition of medieval Spain, but it expresses an idea that is typical of the Lucumí worldview. Irosun (4) talks about the inability to see what's in front of our eyes and the complex nature of human perception. The way we interpret what we're seeing depends on what we're thinking and feeling at any given moment in time, on our life experience, our mindset, our belief system. At a later date, especially with the benefit of hindsight, we might see the same thing in a different light and understand it in a new way. Irosun reminds us that we can't see what lies beyond the horizon, or what has not come into being yet. We can only imagine it in our mind's eye, and we might be wrong, so we have to keep our eyes open and be prepared to rethink our vision of things if the need arises.

Nature blows away the old to make room for the new.

Osa (9) speaks about change and transformation that comes into our life like a storm, clearing away all the things that once existed and creating a space for something new. Most humans don't like sudden change, especially when it involves things totally out of our control. When we're in the middle of a hurricane, we can't tell what's coming or going, what's up or down. The force of change is overwhelming and often scary because it erases the familiar and substitutes it with the unknown. Life goes in cycles and brings us both good and bad things. We get hit with moments of loss, hardship, crisis, upheaval, and when we're in the middle of those things, it's hard to believe that anything good can come of it. Of course it's overly simplistic to tell someone who's just lost his job that "something good will come of it." For the person who's worried about how to pay the bills, or unsure when a new job might appear, or for the person who genuinely liked the old job and wanted to keep it, it's upsetting to experience this kind of loss. Yet, very often a new job comes along that's better, or the person is prompted to change careers and do something more interesting or perhaps even move to a new location and meet new people, starting a whole new life elsewhere. The end of something opens a space for the beginning of something else. It's just a matter of shifting your perspective, to see the good when only the bad is staring you in the face.

New roads open before us.

Some hardships are especially difficult to bear, and they can linger much longer than we want them to. The world is full of tragedy, sickness, loss, and death, and some of these events are devastating. But, the people who live through them usually acquire great emotional, spiritual, even physical strength. They discover they're capable of bearing the pain, dealing with the difficult issues, surviving the loss, and they're still glad to be alive, despite the pain they suffered. They go on to construct new lives. They didn't want anything bad to happen, but they had to live through it because there was no other option. Coming out the other side allows people to shift their perspective, to find something new that inspires or uplifts them so they can anticipate a future that's brighter and gradually put the past behind them. Lucumí tradition teaches us that good and bad are connected; if we weren't aware of the existence of one, we wouldn't be able to perceive the other. The contrast between the two is what gives both meaning. The good isn't necessarily born from the bad, but passing through the bad first makes us appreciate and value the good that comes later. Sometimes old words of wisdom are more than a cliché. They speak universal truths about the nature of human life.